The idea is simple: each day you open the app, select a mood, and then jot down some notes on how you feel and why. Unlike Day One Journal, Moodnotes is focused more on mental health – how you’re feeling day to day. Moodnotes is a slightly different type of journal/diary app. Personally, I don’t need or require any of this stuff – although it is nice to know that there are more advanced features available should you require them.
To be honest, you only really need the paid-for version if you want to access some of Day One Journal’s more advanced features. There is a free version – this is the one I use – or a paid version that costs $3.99 a month. And when you’re trying to start a journaling habit, this is key. It’s so good, you’ll keep coming back for more. Out of all the diary/journal apps on this list, Day One Journal is perhaps the most rewarding to use. It recently got updated to support iOS 13’s Dark Mode, so the app looks even better than it did before. This beautifully designed journaling app, which is 100% free, supports things like audio recordings, location data, rich text formatting, and a gorgeous composition editor. Day One Journal, for me, is by far and away the best option for those that like to keep detailed, media-rich diaries and/or journals.
